Walk in the Shadows
by Neal Wolf
Summary: Part 6 of a series. A museum theft leaves two Rangers to confront old enemies on their own... "only with the breaking of two hearts can the door be closed"


**Prologue: Part One**

Harvey walked along the tents of the carnival, his costume's shoulder straps hanging at his hips, looking rather pleased with himself. His stage name was "the Wonder Hamster", and his performance on the trapeze always earned him the right to keep the title. It was fairly late at night; the carnival had long since closed, and most of the other carnies were already in bed. Noticing a light on in one of the tents, he stopped in for a quick visit. "Hey, Cassandra; when'd ya get back?"

The gypsy moth smiled at her old friend. "Just a moment ago, actually. I see nothing got destroyed in my absence. How are you, Harvey?"

He smiled back. "All'a m'bones are still in one piece, an' my trapeze cable ain't snapped yet. How was that weddin' ya went to?"

"The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was quite pleasant," she replied, opening the small suitcase she had taken with her, "even in spite of…" Cassandra suddenly went rigid, her eyes taking on a distant look as her entire form began to glow with a multicolored aura.

The trapeze hamster shifted where he stood. He had seen one of her "Julius Seizures" before, and it made him just as nervous now as it did then. "Cass? Talk ta me…"

Her voice was as distant as her eyes. Now and then, her wings twitched slightly as she spoke. "The shadow will spread with the opening of the door… allies will become enemies and enemies will become allies… the brothers of darkness and light will collide… and only with the breaking of two hearts shall the door be closed." Cassandra slumped over her suitcase, the seizure passing.

Harvey ran to her side and helped her to her feet. "What's all that mean, Cass?"

The gypsy moth sighed, patting her friend on the shoulder and closing her suitcase. "I'm afraid it means I must leave again," she told him. "The Rescue Rangers must know of this."

**Prologue: Part Two**

"Okay, Freddie, you've got five minutes," the prison guard informed her charge, escorting her to a visitation booth.

"Don't call me Freddie…" Winifred growled back, then sat down and picked up the telephone receiver hanging nearby. "Yeah, who're you?"

The thin features of the business-suited man on the other side of the glass smiled pleasantly as he spoke into the receiver on his side. "My name is Jason Pierce; I've been assigned to assist with your case. You'll be pleased to know that I've already spoken with the parole board, and they are willing to release you into my custody; the paperwork should be going through within the hour."

Winifred smiled at first, then looked at him skeptically. "Just who 'assigned' you to me?"

"That isn't important right now," Jason replied, his pleasant smile taking on a slightly sinister hint. "Let's just say you and I have a… common interest. In fact, part of your rehabilitation while under my recognizance is that you'll be working for me… unless, of course, you'd rather stay in this charming establishment."

Winifred considered her options for a moment, then nodded. "If it gets me outta here, I'll do whatever you say."

Jason's smile grew more sinister, his free hand reaching up to lightly stroke his tie… or, perhaps, something under his shirt. "I was hoping you'd say that…"

* * *

"Thank you again for letting me stay here, Dale," Nathaniel said over his shoulder, sliding a box of various items into a closet. "It sure beats that cave on the other end of the park." 

"Thank Tammy; she's the one who suggested it," Dale replied from the top bunk, his eyes peeking over the top of the comic book his nose was buried in. "Besides, with Chip an' Gadget married now, they'll be sharing her room once they get back from their honeymoon, an' I get kind'a lonely without a roommate."

The squirrel magician smiled, closing the closet door; he had figured that Tammy had a paw in this somehow. "On the other hand, I'd be willing to bet I can think of someone _else_ you'd rather have as a roommate."

The chipmunk's red nose poked over the top of the comic book; he looked genuinely puzzled. "Who?"

"I'll put it this way: you wouldn't want the bunk bed…"

Dale's eyes widened, his cheeks turning as red as his shirt. He set the comic aside and dropped down from the top bunk. "Hey, what kind of a guy d'ya think I am? An' what kind of a _lady_ d'ya think _Foxy_ is?! She and I don't…"

Nathaniel laughed, raising his paws in front of him. "Easy, Dale; I was just teasing. I have no doubt that you are a perfect gentleman with Foxglove, and she a perfect lady with you."

Dale sighed, visibly calming down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at'cha like that. I'm just real sensitive when it comes to Foxy is all."

Nathaniel scratched behind one ear, leaning against the closet door with his tail. "I'll keep that in mind. In truth, I'd probably have a similar reaction to someone making that sort of suggestion about me and Tammy."

"What sort of suggestion?" Tammy asked, poking her head into the room. Both Dale and Nathaniel had clearly forgotten that the bedroom door was open.

Dale smirked, starting to blush again, while Nathaniel shook his head with a smile. "Just guy talk, Tam; nothing important." He lifted her paw from her side and gently kissed the back of it. "By the way, my dear lady, I understand I have you to thank for my new living arrangements."

The female squirrel smiled back, blushing a bit herself. "Well, it _does_ simplify things, what with you being part of the team now and all. Besides," her smile took on a coy quality as she wrapped herself around his arm, "I like the idea of having you nearby".

Nathaniel rested his free paw on hers and was about to say something when a loud knock came from the front door. "Duty calls," he said with a sigh, then escorted Tammy down the stairs with Dale following closely behind.

The trio met up with Foxglove in the stairwell, who latched a wing around Dale's arm as they proceeded. When they reached the living room, Monterey Jack was assisting Cassandra to the couch, with Zipper nearby holding a thimble full of water. "Crikey, not_another_ one," the Aussie mouse muttered, the fly beside him squeaking something in agreement.

Cassandra smiled sadly as she accepted the water. "Yes, Zipper, I too recall the problems you had the last time I had a Julius Seizure. However, I felt that this was too important to simply ignore."

Upon hearing the words "Julius Seizure", Dale shuddered. The bat and squirrels, however, looked a bit puzzled, so Monty explained. "You mates remember Cassie; you ladies first met her at Gadget's memorial, before we found out she was still alive, an' I'm pretty sure you met 'er at the wedding, Nathaniel. Anyhoo, she 'ad another premonition about us; a whopper o' one, too."

"Anybody says anything about two-tailed tigers, I'm leavin'," Dale remarked.

The assembled Rangers looked at the gypsy moth thoughtfully as she repeated the words of her vision. "A door an' a shadow?" asked Monty. "I don' get it, Cassie."

"Well, we've already had an enemy become an ally once," Tammy offered, "Fat Cat".

"An' that nutball Professor Nimnul helped us out when our bodies all got switched around," Dale added. "Course, it was _his_ fault, an' he turned on us as soon as we all got our bodies back."

"Maybe we just have to break something heart-shaped to close this door, whatever it is," Foxglove said hopefully.

"'Brothers of darkness and light'?" Nathaniel looked worried, then shook his head. "No, it couldn't be…"

Their collective musings were cut off by the familiar sound of the police dispatcher's voice coming over the scanner. "Any cars in the vicinity of Fourth and Elm, please respond to four-thirteen report at the Natural History Museum…"

"Four-thirteen… burglary, isn't it?" asked Nathaniel.

Tammy nodded. "Well, Monty, you're in charge while Chip and Gadget are gone; what do ya say?"

Monty smiled. "What else? Rescue Raynjahs, away!" As they headed for the garage and the Rangermobile, Monty called back over his shoulder. "Make y'self at 'ome, Cassie; we'll be back in 'alf a blink."

* * *

The thin frame of the museum's lead archaeologist paced back and forth furiously. "You simply _must_ find that artifact, officers," he said for the tenth time, his black moustache bouncing beneath his bulbous nose. "I was in the middle of writing a fifty-page research paper about it!" 

Kirby, one of the two officers taking the report, scratched at the corner of his jaw with the end of his pen while his partner, Muldoon, tried to calm the irate scientist down. "Can you give us a description of the missing item?"

The scientist directed their attention to a sizable stone tablet covered in odd markings, with a small hole at the top. "It's called the Pin of the World; it's a granite cylinder about 8 centimeters in length, with intricate carvings on one end and a bloodstone set in the other. According to this tablet, it was used by ancient Mayan priests to increase their power."

"Now you said it was there when you went to your office to get a new pen, but was gone when you came back," Kirby cut in. "Where were the other scientists working here at the time?"

"Follow me; I'll take you to them." As the scientist led the police officers away, the Rangers crept out from their hiding place in the air vent to look around, Nathaniel climbing up to the tablet while the others spread out around the room.

"Sounds like an inside job to me," Tammy commented.

Foxglove shook her head. "I don't think so, Tammy. Someone cast a spell here very recently; there's a strong magical residue in the air. Something familiar about it, too…"

"I felt it, too, but it's not familiar to me at all." Nathaniel scratched his chin as he studied the markings on the tablet, then looked down at his fellow Rangers. "I can tell you this much, though: the good doctor's got the translation wrong. The missing artifact isn't the Pin of the World, it's the _Key_ of _Worlds_."

Zipper buzzed something to Monty, a worried expression on his face. "Too right, mate," Monty replied, equally concerned. "What are keys used for?"

"To open things," Dale offered simply, not yet getting the reference.

"Like doors…" added Tammy, who did get it. "Anything else in the tablet, Nate?"

"No," the squirrel magician replied, jumping down from his perch to rejoin the team, "he's got the rest of the translation right".

"Let's try to get up to the security office before the police do," Monty instructed. "Maybe there's somethin' on the surveillance tape that'll 'elp us."

The group made their way quickly through the air vents to the security office, where Tammy made short work of the controls to bring up the tape they needed. They watched carefully as the image showed the doctor leaving the room, followed by a short, stout, but very blurry form appearing out of nowhere, taking the artifact, and vanishing again.

"That's Winifred, it's got to be," Foxglove said flatly. "She figured there'd be surveillance, so she used a spell to hide her identity. That's why the energy residue felt familiar to me but not Nathaniel."

"Winifred?" asked Dale. "I thought she was in jail."

"An' I thought you said she wasn't a true witch," Monty added.

"Both true, last I checked," the bat replied. "Apparently things have changed, though."

"Well, I think she's in for a surprise if she tries to use that key," Nathaniel told them. "From what I've read in the past, the Mayans were kind of chauvinistic, at least their religious order, so it stands to reason that a priest's tool could only be used by a man."

Any further discussion was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps. Tammy quickly reset the controls, and the Rangers scrambled back into the air vent. "Might as well head back to 'eadquarters," Monty suggested. "Maybe Cassie can shed some light on this mess."

* * *

It was early evening when the Rangers filed back into the living room of their headquarters, Cassandra rising to greet them. "Did you find anything?" 

Monty nodded. "We think we might know where that door ya mentioned is comin' from, but no clue where it is. Think you can give us a bit more insight?"

"I shall try." The gypsy moth flew over to a nearby light bulb, staring at it intently as she flitted around it. "I see… a man's face. He… _urk!_" Cassandra's body suddenly convulsed violently, then fell to the floor. The Rangers were already at her side as she sat up and looked around. Her lips moved, but the voice speaking through them wasn't hers. "One, two, three, four, five… drat, there's two of you missing. No matter; the two I'm concerned about are here."

Nathaniel's eyes widened in shock; his voice was an awed whisper. "Joshua… how…?"

A sinister chuckle escaped Cassandra's throat in Joshua's voice. "You'll find out soon enough, little brother. Actually, that's why I'm here: to invite you and your bat friend to be guests at my final rise to power."

"Winifred stole that artifact for you," Foxglove stated. "You showed her how to become a witch so she could do it."

"Excellent deduction… Foxglove, isn't it?" Joshua's voice said through a smirk. "You can thank her for your inclusion in this little party when you arrive; I'd just as soon Nathaniel come alone, but I really don't want to listen to that hag's whining."

A low growl found its way into Nathaniel's voice. "Where are you hiding, Joshua?"

"Hiding… appropriate choice of words, Nathaniel," the smirk twisted into a sneer. "That should be enough of a hint for you, if you think back. Oh, by the way, this is a private party. If any of your other little friends here come within ten feet of our location, you two will get a very interesting show… namely, watching them die, slowly and painfully." Cassandra's form slumped to the floor once again. After a moment, she sat up, shaking her head. "What happened?" She was herself once more.

After a brief explanation, the team debated what to do next. "It's a trap," said Tammy, her deep concern obvious in her eyes.

"Aye," Monty nodded. "You two can't be serious 'bout goin' after 'im alone."

"Joshua doesn't make empty threats," Nathaniel replied. "He _will_ kill you if you try to help us; I wouldn't doubt that he and Winifred already have the spells to do it in place."

"D'ya know where they are?" asked Dale.

Foxglove looked to Nathaniel. "You told me once that the cave you were living in was where the two of you used to hide as children when your parents were fighting. I'll bet that's what he meant when he told us that you saying he was 'hiding' was appropriate."

As Nathaniel nodded, Tammy threw herself into his arms, tears forming in her eyes as she buried her face in his chest. "You can't go; he'll kill you!"

The squirrel held her close, gently stroking her hair. "He'll kill all of us if we don't. At least this way, if we can get close to him, Foxglove and I have a chance at stopping him."

Her tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks. "Do one thing for me, Nate: promise me you'll come back…"

"Tam, I don't…"

"I don't care if you believe it or not," she sobbed, looking up into his eyes. "I just need to hear it… please…"

Nathaniel sighed, then kissed her on the forehead, giving her the best smile he could manage. "I promise."

Dale and Foxglove, meanwhile, were saying their own goodbyes. "Why does it feel like I'm never gonna see you again?" the chipmunk asked, nuzzling the bat's cheek tenderly.

Foxglove sighed softly. "It's the risk we all knew we were taking when we joined the Rangers," she told him. "I wish I could do better, but…"

Dale simply nodded. "I know… be careful, okay?"

"I will." She slowly pressed her lips to his in a deep, soft kiss. "I love you, cutie."

"I love you too, Foxy."

As the two magic-wielding Rangers reluctantly separated themselves from their partners, Monty rested a paw on each of their shoulders. "I still don' like lettin' you walk inta an obvious trap alone, but there ain't really much choice in this case. Watch yer backs… and each other's."

Foxglove managed a small smile, patting the burly mouse's paw with her wing. "Thanks, Monty; we will."

"Y'know, Chip an' Gadget are s'posed ta be back some time this evenin'," Monty continued, "an' they're gonna wanna know where you two went…"

Nathaniel nodded. "I know, and we're counting on you to keep them from coming after us, Monterey, for their own safety."

"Good luck, mates."

Evening was giving way to night as the pair made their way out of Ranger Headquarters and toward their destination. Their moods were grim, but Foxglove tried to sound hopeful. "Nathaniel, do you really think we have a chance of stopping them?"

Her companion just sighed. "You don't want me to answer that."

* * *

The air was eerily still as the squirrel and bat entered the cave. Approaching the back of the cavern, they were met with a sight that would have astonished even the Australian teammate they'd left behind: a swirling vortex of energy, perhaps seven feet in diameter, pulsed against the far wall. Hovering a few feet in front of it was Joshua, once again in the garb they'd seen him in at the warehouse, though his legs now seemed to be part solid and part shadow. Winifred stood grinning off to Joshua's right, twirling the scrub brush she'd previously used as a wand in one hand. 

Joshua greeted his guests with a grin. "Ah, so glad you could make it," he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "After all, it's not nearly as much fun to win without enemies to gloat to."

"Long time no see, Foxglove," Winifred smirked. "I see your taste in friends hasn't changed much."

"I could say the same," Foxglove shot back with a glare. "You're still teaming up with losers, _Freddie_…"

Winifred raised her brush over her head, preparing an attack, but stopped herself hearing Joshua clear his throat. "It was your idea that she be here, so she will also bear witness to my triumph.

"Behold," he continued, gesturing toward the vortex, "the Nexus of Infinity, doorway to limitless power. This is how I've managed to get around your little trick, Nathaniel; though the amulet still negates my own magic, the magic I'm using now isn't mine".

"Clever," the squirrel mused, attempting to keep his demeanor nonchalant, "but don't tell me you've grown so vain as to not be concerned about something more than just power coming through…"

"Scared, little brother?" the sorcerer chuckled. "Don't be. I've done my homework; the door is one-way for sentient beings, namely into the Nexus, and the Key of Worlds, which holds the doorway open, only works from this side."

Foxglove chanted under her breath in some arcane language, then thrust both wings forward with a scream, releasing a bolt of energy at Joshua. Instead of striking its target, however, the bolt dissipated against a field of shadow that sprung up a few feet in front of him. Joshua's lips turned up in an evil grin. "A valiant effort, little bat, but a futile one. I've taken every precaution; what you just saw was a Shadow Wall, an utterly impenetrable defensive spell."

"Nice bluff, brother," Nathaniel remarked, "but I know that spell, too; you have to name a weakness in it when you cast it".

The shadowy effect had by this time spread up Joshua's body to about his chest. "Very true, but I took even this into consideration. The Shadow Wall's weakness is the one person who I know can do me no harm: you. You would say 'everything happens for a reason', and very soon, that reason will be 'because I wish it'!"

"Wait a minute," Winifred cut in. "You said we were gonna rule together!"

"But of course," Joshua replied cruelly. "Any good master needs his slaves."

Winifred's eyes narrowed, and she considered hurling a lightning bolt at her so-called partner, but she knew it would be no more effective than Foxglove's attack. Meanwhile, an idea was forming in Nathaniel's mind.

"Cassandra, I understand what you meant now." He whispered something to Foxglove, then began preparing his spell. The bat flew over to Winifred, quietly speaking in her ear. Her smile grew wider as she listened intently. "Y'know, Foxglove, that's not a half-bad idea. Hey, Pike!"

Joshua turned his head, then smirked at seeing Foxglove on Winifred's shoulder. "So, even Nathaniel's friend has come to my service, eh?"

"Nope," the witch sneered back, "I just left it". With that, Winifred and Foxglove both released bursts of pure mystic force not at Joshua, but at Nathaniel, whose form was immediately engulfed in the ensuing explosion.

The sorcerer seethed with raw fury. "How _dare_ you! Nathaniel was _mine_ to destroy!" His voice lowered, but his anger didn't. "You will suffer for your insolence…"

"_**JOSHUA!**_" Nathaniel's body glowed with energy as he slowly rose first to his feet, then up off the ground. "I swear, by all I hold sacred, you will never harm another living soul again."

Joshua snarled, pointing at Nathaniel and sending a bolt of lightning into him. The attack, however, only made the glow surrounding the squirrel flare brighter. "Aura Field," the human muttered, "a spell that absorbs any attack and converts it to usable power. Impressive, little brother; too bad you don't have an attack spell of your own to channel it into".

"Don't need one…" Nathaniel turned to Foxglove and whispered something inaudible to the humans. She nodded sadly, and he flew forward like a bullet of light, visibly shattering the Shadow Wall spell and striking the elder Pike in the center of the chest. Tears streamed from his eyes as he forced his way onward, pushing his human brother back.

"What are you…" Realization came a moment too late for Joshua Pike as he looked over his shoulder behind him… at the swiftly-approaching doorway. "No… _NOOOOO!_" In a flash of light, the portal, the key, and both of the Pike brothers were gone; the only evidence that they'd ever been was the echoing of Joshua's scream.

"… 'only with the breaking of two hearts shall the door be closed'," Foxglove muttered sadly, "Tammy's, and his own". Noticing Winifred's puzzled look, she shook her head. "Just something that a friend told us before we got into this mess. Thank you for your help, by the way…"

The witch shrugged. "Ah, I wasn't too hot on the idea of bein' that loudmouth's slave. 'sides, I got what I wanted out of the deal."

"That's true," the bat said with a nod, "you're free, and you're a full witch; so what do you plan to do now?"

Winifred thought about this for a moment. "Y'know, I haven't decided yet. I can tell ya this much, though: I'm gonna avoid anything that'll land me back in jail like the plague. Heck, I might even turn over a whole new leaf."

"Glad to hear that…"

"Figured you would be," the witch said with a chuckle. "I'm guessin' you're gonna go back to those rodent friends of yours?"

Foxglove nodded again. "They're my family. Also, I have to let them know what happened to Nathaniel…" she finished the thought to herself, "… and deliver a message".

"Well, once I get settled, you an' your friends are welcome to visit whenever," at her former assistant's skeptical look, she raised one hand in oath and held her brush over her heart with the other. "No tricks, witch's honor." She paused for a moment, then sighed. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about your friend."

Foxglove gave her a small grin. "It's worth a lot; thank you, Winifred."

The witch grinned back. "Eh, call me Freddie…"

**Epilogue**

"For the tenth time, Chippah, they wouldn't let us go with 'em!"

"And for the eleventh time, Monty, it was too dangerous to let them go alone!"

The argument had been going along this line for twenty minutes, since Chip and Gadget got home and learned where Foxglove and Nathaniel had gone. Cassandra had already left for home, Tammy had confined herself in the med lab, and Gadget was doing her best to comfort Dale. Chip was reaching for the door again when it opened.

"Foxy!" Dale immediately rushed forward to hug her, nuzzling her cheek and thankful she was still alive. Feeling her wings wrap around him, though, he suddenly realized that something wasn't right. "Where's Nathaniel?"

"Oh no," Gadget whispered as Foxglove finished her account of the night's events, burying her face against Chip's shoulder to stifle a sob. Chip and Monty both held their hats in their paws, Dale held Foxglove close, rocking her gently, and even Zipper felt tears begin to well in his eyes.

"We all know something like this could happen to any of us, at any time," Chip said sadly, cuddling his wife in his arm, "but that doesn't make it any easier when it does".

Dale nodded agreement. "How're we gonna tell Tammy?"

"Th' poor sheila's gonna be crushed," added Monty.

Foxglove's highly sensitive ears picked up a sound that the others didn't. "We don't have to tell her," she said quietly. "Would you guys excuse me for a minute?" She slowly pulled away from Dale and walked down to the med lab.

"You were listening in the stairwell, weren't you?" the bat said more as a statement of fact than a question as she stepped into the med lab. The young squirrel, who lay crying on the exam table, didn't respond.

Foxglove sat down beside her, draping a wing across her shoulders. "There was one part I didn't tell the others: Nathaniel's last words."

Tammy sniffled as she looked up, her eyes red from tears. Foxglove's voice was soft, trying to be comforting, as she continued. "He said, 'tell Tammy that I'm sorry… and that I love her'."

Tammy blinked, speaking in a hoarse whisper. "That's really what he said?"

The bat nodded, sniffling a little herself. "I think you were the only thing on his mind; he was in tears up to the very end…"

Foxglove wrapped her wings around Tammy, hugging her as a fresh round of crying began. She'd never felt so helpless, knowing there was nothing she could do for her heartbroken friend than hold her as she cried herself out.

"Nate…" Tammy whispered between sobs. "I love you…"

Unnoticed at first, a nearby mirror vibrated slightly, then started to ripple. By the time it caught the attention of the two females, it's surface looked similar to a lake in a strong wind. Slowly, a set of brown-furred fingers emerged from the surface of the mirror, followed by a paw, then by an arm… covered in a denim sleeve.

"Oh my God," Tammy whispered, eyes wide. Suddenly realizing what was happening, she screamed. "Guys! Get down here!"

Tammy and Foxglove had managed to pull Nathaniel's arm, shoulder, and part of his head through the mirror when the other Rangers burst into the room. With a single group effort, they managed to yank him the rest of the way back, a small popping sound following his tail as the mirror reverted to normal.

Tammy held his face in her paws, tears pouring from her eyes once again… this time of joy. "Nate… is it really you?"

He smiled as he reached up and stroked her cheek, sniffling. "I always keep a promise…"

The remaining Rangers were still in shock. "I… I saw you go through the portal with Joshua," Foxglove stammered.

"We thought you were dead," said Dale.

"Once the portal closed, I might as well have been," Nathaniel explained. "Yet, even across Infinity, I heard something I've been waiting to hear for a while now. I had to come back to hear it again. It took all I had, though, literally; I still have all my knowledge of magic, but I can never use it again."

"C'mon, guys," Gadget grinned, nudging Chip. "We can hear the whole story later; right now, I think these two could use some quiet time." She gently herded the rest of her teammates back up the stairs, giving Tammy a wink as she closed the door behind her.

"So, just what was it you wanted to hear so badly that you'd come back from the dead to hear it again?" Tammy asked coyly.

"I think you already know…" Nathaniel grinned back.

"Well, if it's what I think it is, I'll make you a deal," she slowly leaned her face closer to his, her eyelids drooping seductively. "You can hear it all you want… as long as I do, too, and actually from you instead of Fox…"

He leaned in closer to her as well as he whispered, "Sounds fair to me".

"Nate?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

The two squirrels gently pulled each other closer as their lips touched, sparks flying between them as they kissed.

A few minutes later, they both sighed happily as their lips finally parted, content in each other's arms. "Hey Nate?"

"Yeah?"

She flipped at the lapel of his jacket with one finger. "Any old sayings to go with this situation?"

"Just the obvious one," he chuckled softly. "'Love conquers all'."


End file.
